Study of Anxiety Symptoms in Mothers of ADHD Children

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood onset psychiatric disorders that is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD can affect social, cognitive and academic performance of children. All these impairments of psychosocial functioning can affect the quality of life of both patients and their families. Based on that, it is suggested that parents, especially mothers of ADHD children, display higher levels of depression and anxiety. Aim of the work: This study aimed to compare anxiety symptoms in the mothers with ADHD children with control group. Patients and Methods: Fifty mothers of the ADHD children as study group and fifty mothers with children without any psychiatric disorder as control group. All were evaluated with to a semi-structured interview and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. Results: This study showed that 19 in mothers of study group (32%) had no anxiety symptoms while 31(68%) had anxiety symptoms and 13 (26%) had above sever anxiety. In the control group 35 (70%) had no anxiety and 15(30%) had anxiety symptoms while 3 (6%) had above sever anxiety. There was statistically significant difference between the two groups (p value = 0 .05). There was no significant relation between intensity of maternal anxiety and the intensity of ADHD symptoms in their children. Conclusion: The present study suggested that the presence and intensity of anxiety symptoms in mothers of ADHD children are higher than the control group and there was no significant association with ADHD symptoms in children.

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